This week, Marvel Studios is releasing the extremely anticipated The Unbelievable 4: First Steps on July twenty fifth. The upcoming Marvel film marks the long-awaited induction of the primary superhero household into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the third cinematic iteration of the enduring comedian e-book characters general… or, is it?
Years earlier than the 2000s-era films starring Chris Evans and Jessica Alba, an adaptation below iconic B-movie producer Roger Corman was produced that went on to have a extra notorious popularity than even Josh Trank’s panned 2015 reboot, as a result of the truth that it was by no means formally launched. So, what led to the 1994 Unbelievable 4 film’s doom? Let’s begin from the start…
Improvement Of The First Unbelievable 4 Film Began In The Early Eighties
Created by celebrated comedian e-book author Stan Lee with legendary artist Jack Kirby, the Unbelievable 4 is made up of the elastic Reed “Mr. Unbelievable” Richards; the clear, force-field-generating Susan “Invisible Lady” Storm; her flying, pyrokinetic brother, Johnny “Human Torch” Storm; and super-strong, rock-skinned pilot Ben “The Factor” Grimm. The close-knit group of super-powered vigilantes made their debut in Marvel Comics in November 1961, and their journey to the large display screen started greater than 20 years later.
Based on Robert Ito’s e-book, Unbelievable Fake!, in 1983, German producer Bernd Eichinger met with Lee to buy the rights to provide a characteristic adaptation of the characters for an estimated $250,000. Years later, in 1992, with the rights prone to expiring quickly, Eichinger teamed with Roger Corman, who handed away in 2024, to provide the movie for $1 million and distribute it below his New Horizons Photos. Quickly after, The Unbelievable 4 went into manufacturing.
The Unbelievable 4 Was Shot And Accomplished By Early 1993
Oley Sassone, identified finest on the time for steering music movies like Mr. Mister’s “Damaged Wings,” was chosen to helm The Unbelievable 4 from a screenplay by Craig J. Nevius and Kevin Rock. Alex Hyde-White was solid as Reed Richards, alongside Rebecca Staab as Invisible Lady, Jay Underwood as Johnny Storm, and Carl Ciarfalio as The Factor, with Michael Bailey Smith showing earlier as Ben Grimm in human type.
Joseph Culp additionally starred because the Unbelievable 4’s arch-nemesis, Victor Von Doom (in any other case often called Dr. Doom), and Kat Inexperienced as Grimm’s love curiosity, Alicia Masters. Based on The AV Membership’s oral historical past in regards to the movie, principal images lasted simply 21 days, starting in late December 1992 and wrapping up in January.
The Unbelievable 4 Was Set To Launch In 1994
A Could 1994 launch date was set for The Unbelievable 4, and the hype for the characters’ big-screen debut was actual. There have been plans to carry a premiere screening in January of that 12 months at Minnesota’s Mall of America. Sassone recollects to The AV Membership that the mayor of Bloomington on the time wished the day of the occasion to be dubbed “Unbelievable 4 Day” within the metropolis.
Within the months main as much as the premiere, a trailer for the movie (which is accessible to observe on YouTube) ran in theaters throughout the nation. In the meantime, solid members Hyde-White and Smith additionally did some touring to varied comedian e-book conventions to advertise the upcoming superhero film. It appeared like issues with The Unbelievable 4 have been on hearth till, impulsively, the movie disappeared.
The Unbelievable 4 Was Abruptly Shelved
The Unbelievable 4 was nearly to carry its premiere occasion when plans to launch it have been scrapped, and the explanation behind the barring has been up for debate ever since. Stan Lee mentioned that Eichinger by no means supposed to launch it within the first place and solely had the movie produced to retain the rights to the property, which nobody within the solid or crew, and even Corman, knew about. One other rumor suggests he hoped a extra established studio would pay for a higher-budget adaptation, and you would say he acquired his want as he’s credited as a producer on Tim Story’s Unbelievable 4 films from 2005 and 2007.
Nonetheless, Eichinger would declare the other, including that future Marvel Studios founder Avi Arad, later identified for producing the Spider-Man films, made a deal to pay him what he spent on the manufacturing in trade for not releasing the movie. In 2002, in response to Unbelievable Fake!, With out even seeing the finished movie, Arad ordered to have each final copy torched. From then on, The Unbelievable 4 would stay invisible… or so it appeared.
Unbelievable 4 ’94’s Legacy From Notorious To Endearing
Apparently, The Unbelievable 4 was exhibited earlier than it was formally destroyed, much like the cancelled Batgirl film’s secret funeral screenings, which is probably going the origin of the bootleg VHS copies that may be handed round within the years since. Ultimately, the whole movie made its approach on-line, for any curious followers to lastly see and, regardless of some blended reactions, to name it a cult favourite shouldn’t be a lot of a stretch.
The Unbelievable 4 has a 3.8 score on IMDb and a 27% on Rotten Tomatoes, however hidden among the many muck are fan opinions that not at all name it the most effective superhero films, however acknowledge its potential and admire its campy tone. Marty Langford instructed Newsarama in 2014 that he made the documentary, Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s The Unbelievable 4 in protest of the truth that its legacy might solely endure by bootlegs. Nonetheless, Physician Doom actor Joseph Culp desires to repair that with a web-based petition on Change.org to have Disney, the present proprietor of Marvel Studios, formally launch the movie, which has amassed 1000’s of signatures because it was began in 2024.
Contemplating the assist that film lovers have proven towards newer unreleased movies, equivalent to Batgirl or Coyote vs. Acme (which fortunately earned a spot on the upcoming 2026 film schedule, lastly), I feel Disney could be sensible to make 1994’s The Unbelievable 4 formally accessible to the general public, with a Disney+ subscription, maybe. I’d not be shocked if it boosted curiosity within the new 2025 film, The Unbelievable 4: First Steps or, not less than, gave audiences an concept of how a lot worse Tim Story and Josh Trank’s panned movies might have been. I feel that may be a extra favorable destiny than the doom the movie has endured for many years.